Misdirection
by puellascribit5
Summary: Neal and Peter are thrown off guard when a new case turns out to be more complicated than they originally thought.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N):** Hey, there! So here's my latest story. I hope you all enjoy! Any mistakes you find belong to me and I don't own anything.

* * *

><p>Neal was sitting on the terrace, sipping some Italian Roast, when he heard a knock on the door.<p>

"Coming." He regretfully placed his coffee on the table and went to open the door. It was no surprise it was Peter, picking him up for another mortgage fraud filled day at work.

"Moring." Peter greeted Neal. "You ready? Hughes said we have a new case. No mortgage fraud, I promise."

"Well, it's about time."

"You're telling me! You aren't the only one who hates those."

"Then why do we always get stuck with them?" Neal questioned.

"Because mortgage fraud is a crime and we are the law enforcers. Just 'cause we don't like it doesn't mean it goes away." Peter said as he looked at his watch. "Okay, let's get moving. We need to be in the conference room in 30."

Once they got situated into the car, Neal reached over to turn on the radio but Peter gave him a slap on the hand.

"What was that for? I called it."

"Not right now. I don't like listening to the radio in morning traffic. It's distracting."

"Whatever." Neal leaned back in his seat as Peter pulled away from the curb and drove down the street.

"Come on, you're seriously going to pout over the radio?" Peter looked at Neal. As soon as he did, the Taurus' collision warning went off and Peter quickly turned his focus back toward the road, ignoring the numerous honking coming from irritated morning commuters.

"Peter, you should really keep your eyes on the road." Neal stated with a grin.

"Can it." Peter thought for a second. "You know what? I think _you_ are what's distracting me."

"Or maybe it's just your bad driving skills." Neal countered.

"Would you rather be taking the subway?" Peter threatened, knowing that taking the subway in the morning was the last thing Neal wanted to do.

"No."

"That's what I thought."

The rest of the car ride to the office was silent, which Peter was thankful for. When they reached the 21st floor, the team was already in the conference room looking over the new case. They were now investigating Carl Sawyers.

"At a first glance, Sawyers seems pretty clean." Peter started as he addressed the agents (and Neal) in the conference room. "But what is suspicious is that a few months ago, he started his own appraisal business. He makes appointments with clients and visits their homes to appraise whatever they think might be of value. Usually the stuff is antiques passed down to them."

"Let me guess, he's stealing whatever he appraised from his clients?" Neal asked.

"Well, yes, but it looks like he also appraised a few items considerably lower than the actually price."

"And the owners obviously don't know any better, so they think it's legit, right?" Diana spoke up.

"Correct. Then Sawyers offers to buy the said items and ends up selling them to make a large profit." Peter concluded.

"That's actually a pretty good plan." Neal admitted.

"Yeah I'll give him that, but the problem is that this is all circumstantial. What we need to do is catch him in the act." Peter turned to Neal. "You up for some undercover work?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Neal smiled as he leaned back in his chair.

* * *

><p>The rest of the morning was spent preparing for the sting. Neal was going to go undercover as Nick Halden to try and work his way into Sawyers' business. Sawyers hired a few other men to assist him in the appraisals, and of course to break in to the client's house. The plan was for Neal to go in and impress Sawyers enough to hire him on as part of his appraisal team.<p>

Peter was in his office finishing up some paperwork when he looked at the clock and noticed it was finally time for lunch. He logged off his computer and made his way down to Neal's desk, hoping the younger man would join him for lunch.

"Hey, you wanna get something to eat?" Peter offered.

"Sounds great, what do you have in mind?"

"There's this new Italian place down the street that Jones was just telling me about."

"Well, let's go check it out."

The restaurant turned out to be a few blocks from the office. It was one of those, nice family owned restaurants that had great service. Once seated, a young waitress went over to them.

"Hi, my name is Sydney. Can I get you two something to drink?"

"I'll just have water, please." Neal said politely.

"And for you, sir?" The waitress turned to Peter.

"Oh, I'll just have a water too."

"Alright, I'll let you both look over the menu while I get your drinks."

Neal took a look at the menu and then looked up to Peter. "Copycat."

"What?" Peter looked up from his own menu.

"You ordered water, I ordered it first."

"Seriously? Are you 12?"

"No, 8."

"Well, if you have to know, Elizabeth wants me to cut back on my caffeine intake. She says I'm too dependent on it." Peter explained.

"I'd agree with her, but you tend to be a bit cranky without your coffee." Neal pointed out.

"No, I do not."

"Yeah, you do."

"No, I don't." Peter said sternly.

"Ahem." Both men looked up to their waitress, Sydney, who was clearly witnessing the juvenile argument. She placed their waters on the table, smiled and said, "Sorry to interrupt, but are you ready for me to take your orders?"

After a quick glance at the menu, Neal decided to go with the Chicken Alfredo.

"Oh, that's my favorite." Sydney smiled.

"I'll have the lasagna." Peter said.

"Alright, those will be out shortly" Sydney placed a bowl of bread on the table and walked away.

"Didn't you order lasagna last time we ate out?" Neal asked.

"Yeah. What's wrong with that? Lasagna is a classic dish."

"This is where you say, _'Classics never go out of style_'." Neal mocked.

"Shut up and eat your bread."

A little while later, Sydney brought out their food. Both dishes turned out to be fantastic and Peter noted to thank Jones for the tip. Neal insisted on paying the tab, but Peter said he'd pay since Neal did last time they ate out. When Peter reached into his jacket to pull out his wallet, he panicked for a second, not being able to find it. But, once he looked up, Neal was waving it proudly in his hands. After Peter threatened Neal with orange jumpsuits, he gave the waitress his credit card.

"And here's your receipt." Sydney handed Peter a small piece of paper and turned to Neal. "I hope you both come back."

"Oh, we will." Neal winked and Sydney blushed. Peter just rolled his eyes as they made their way out of the restaurant and back to the office.

A couple of hours later, the number of agents in the office started dwindling down as the day drew to a close. Neal, after noticing the time, headed up to Peter's office.

"Hey, you heading out soon?"

"Yeah, I was just checking up on Sawyers' men. They're all clean too, not even a parking ticket."

"That's good, right?"

"I guess so. Alright, let's get outta here. We already scheduled your meeting with Sawyers' secretary for tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds like a plan." Neal said as both men headed out for home.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the FBI crew was already prepping for Neal's meeting later in the afternoon. They went over the buildings and streets again and again, making sure there was no room for error. When it was an hour before the meet, all teams headed out into position. Jones and Diana took to the van while Peter drove behind with Neal in the Taurus. Once they parked a few blocks down from Sawyers' office, Peter and Neal hopped out of the car and into the van.<p>

"Okay, I'll be with the other team." Diana announced as she made her way to the back of the van. "Good luck, Neal."

"Thanks." Neal nodded as she walked out of the van. His attention then turned to Jones, who pulled out a nice looking, fake Rolex.

"GPS?"

"Yep. With a one-way radio. We'll be able to hear everything." Jones said as he handed Neal the watch.

"Hold on, we need to pick a code word, just in case you need us to bust in." Peter said as he thought of something subtle. "How about 'weather'?"

Neal gave Peter a 'you've got to be kidding me' look. "Seriously, Peter? Do you really think we'll be discussing the weather?"

"It's just a suggestion. If you think you're so smart, what should we use?"

Neal pondered his vocabulary for a simple word. "I'll say 'drinks' if I need you guys to come in." he decided.

"Good enough for me. Here, let me go tell Diana real quick. Don't leave yet." Peter said as he quickly walked out of the van to catch up with her. Luckily, she wasn't too far. "Hey, Diana, I got the code word, its 'drinks'."

"Okay, I'll let the other team know once I get over there." She paused, taking a look at Peter's face. He looked like he was deep in thought. "Boss, is there something going on?"

"Huh? Oh, no. It's just that this seems a little too easy. I mean, why would Sawyers be willing to meet with a potential employee when he already has a whole team already doing their job?"

"I don't know, maybe he's looking to expand to increase profit?"

"That could be." Peter checked his watch. "It's almost time for Neal's meeting. I better get back. See you soon." They said their goodbyes and parted ways. When Peter got back into the van, Jones was alone.

"Hey, where's Neal?"

"He just left. Said he wanted to make a good impression by being early." Jones explained as he adjusted the speakers.

* * *

><p>It was about 30 minutes into the meeting and Neal thought it was going great. They were discussing art as well as business. Sawyers was probably in his late 30's. He had his dirty blonde hair smoothed back to give a very professional look, as if his expensive suit and cufflinks didn't already do the job. Overall, Neal thought he seemed likeable, even though he was actually stealing from people all over Manhattan.<p>

"It's a bit stuffy in here, don't you think? Would you care to get a little fresh air?" Sawyers asked Neal as he stood up out of his office chair.

"Of course." Neal nodded as they made their way out of the building.

"Nick, your resume is flawless. I'm impressed, and that's something people find hard to do." Sawyers smiled.

"I'm flattered, Sir, but I was hoping we could discuss any possible job openings?"

"Sure, sure. I'm sure we could work something out."

The two men made their way a few blocks away from the building when Neal spoke up.

"Don't you think we should maybe start heading back? It is getting a little late." Neal looked at his wrist that had the watch equipped with a GPS.

"No problem. I'm sure you are a busy man."

"That I am, Mr. Sawyers. And that is why I'd love to do business with you. See, I'm very dedicated to my work. But, to be honest with you, I am also looking to make some quick cash. My girlfriend has exquisite taste and it's about time I treat her to something nice." Neal explained, hoping he was convincing enough.

"I understand. I too have had that problem." Sawyers said with an empathetic tone. He paused and then pointed to a street off to the side. "Take a left here, it's a shortcut, we'll be there in just a few minutes."

"Alright." Neal said as they both continued down the narrow road. It wasn't long before Neal realized Sawyers' pace was slowing down. He turned around and saw that Sawyers had stopped walking.

"Something wrong, Sir?"

"I would have loved to work with you Nick…"

"I have a gut feeling there's a 'but' coming on." Neal interrupted.

"Always one step ahead, right?" Sawyers smirked. "Like I said, I would have loved to work with you, but I'm afraid this isn't going to work out."

"Is this one of those 'It's not you, it's me situations'?" Neal decided to throw some humor at the man. Compared to how things were moving along a few minutes ago, this meeting was going south—fast.

Surprisingly, Neal's comment granted him a chuckle from Sawyers. "Something like that." he said as he reached into the back of his pants and pulled out a gun.

"Whoa, hold on! There's no need for guns." Neal held his hands up. He desperately wanted to try and preserve his cover so he didn't say the code word just yet.

"Yes, there is, Nick. Or should I say, Neal Caffrey?" Sawyers let out another malevolent laugh. "To think I was almost fooled!"

"Oh," Neal quickly thought of how to work a deal out, "So you've heard of my work?" He gave a half smile, trying to keep the situation light despite the gun Sawyers still held.

"Not until a little bird told me that the FBI was snooping on me. He especially told me to look out for their consultant. Care to guess who that is?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Neal decided to play the innocent card. He had a hunch it wasn't going to work out.

"See, I think you do." Sawyers cocked his gun.

"Hey, uh, maybe we could talk about this over drinks? I've heard of this new bar just down th—"

"That's enough!" Sawyers shouted. "I don't like the thought of someone tricking me. So, I guess this is it Mr. Caffrey."

"Wait a minute!" Neal had already said the code word, now he needed to stall until Peter got there with backup. "You don't want to do t—" He couldn't finish. The last thing Neal heard was the report of Sawyers gun. He felt a horrible pain in his chest as he fell backwards. Neal could almost make out the noise of footsteps; running toward him or away, it didn't matter. He quickly lost his battle with consciousness.

* * *

><p>"<em>Whoa, hold up. There's no need for guns<em>."

Peter stiffened as he heard Neal's conversation with Sawyers. This was just supposed to be a simple meeting. He decided to wait on busting in; maybe Neal could turn this around with that silver tongue of his. They waited but didn't like what they were hearing.

"Boss, do you think we should move in?" Jones questioned.

_"Hey, uh, maybe we could talk about this over drinks? I've heard of this new bar just down th—"_

"There!" Peter shouted as he heard Neal say the code word over the speakers. "I'm going in." He got up and went for the back doors to the van.

"Hold on, Peter! Diana and the others are closer, they can handle it." Jones assured him.

"Yeah, I'm sure they can, but with Neal, nothing is simp—" Peter was cut off by a distinct report of a gun and a groan coming from the speakers. At that moment, he didn't have to think twice about jumping out of the van and running over to Neal. Peter paid no attention to Jones shouting at him. All that mattered now was getting over to his fallen partner.

Back in the van, Jones sighed as he saw Peter run out. He picked up his radio and held down the button. "All teams move in. We have a man down. Suspect is armed and dangerous."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):** Dun, dun, dun! Haha, so I hope you liked the first chapter. I'm almost done with the last chapter, so this is pretty much already written. Thanks for reading and I'll try to update soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N):** Thanks so much for the reviews/favorites/story alerts. Enjoy! Any mistakes are mine and I (sadly) don't own anything.

* * *

><p>Peter felt the cool night air rush past him as he ran to Neal. Gun drawn, he quickly sped up as he got nearer to the location. This wasn't supposed to happen; Neal's cover was completely solid. The meeting was going smoothly until now. Peter turned down Sawyers' "shortcut" and saw a figure lying on the ground not too far ahead.<p>

"Neal! NEAL!" Peter shouted as he ran to his unmoving friend. _No, no, this isn't happening. What if Neal's…dead?_ He shook that terrible thought from his head as he knelt down to feel a strong pulse on Neal's neck. Peter looked down and noticed there wasn't any blood. After unbuttoning Neal's jacket, he saw where the bullet penetrated Neal's shirt. But something was off. Peter pulled open Neal's shirt to reveal a bullet-proof vest with a bullet sticking out. It felt like weights were lifted off his chest. _He's going to be fine._ Peter started lightly slapping Neal's checks to wake him up.

"Hey, Neal? Buddy, come on wake up." He slapped Neal's face a couple more times before the latter started to stir. "Neal?"

Neal finally opened his eyes and sat started to sit up, coughing. "Peter?" He managed to get out.

"I'm right here, don't worry. Where does it hurt?"

"Just," Neal paused to cough some more, "got the wind knocked out of me. I'll be fine." He started to sit up and stopped halfway.

"Easy now, that's going to be real sore." Peter helped Neal sit up and take off the vest. They suddenly heard footsteps approaching them so Peter swiftly turned around with his gun in his hand. He holstered the gun when he saw it was just Jones.

"Hey, you okay?" Jones looked at Neal.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You know, you should have warned me it hurt that much."

"Would you rather be dead?" Peter stood up and held out his hand to assist Neal.

"No, I prefer the living, thank you. I knew it was going to hurt, but not this bad." Neal rubbed his chest.

"Boss, I called an ambulance just to be safe. They should be here any minute now." Jones spoke up.

"Ah, that's not really necessary. I'll just go home and rest a bit." Neal protested.

Peter objected. "I don't think so. You're getting checked out, that's final."

Neal didn't bother to argue. "So did Diana and the others catch Sawyers?" he asked Jones.

Jones nodded. "Yeah, he was just a couple blocks down. Diana's taking him to the office for interrogation."

"Good. Jones, would you mind heading back to the office to help out Diana? I'll go get Neal checked out." Peter asked.

"No problem, boss. I'll tell Hughes you won't be coming back to the office. See you both tomorrow. " Jones waved as he walked back to the van.

Peter turned and narrowed his eyes at Neal. "Wait, how did you even get a vest? I didn't even know that you were wearing one!" His mind flashed back to the moment he saw Neal, motionless, in the middle of the street, not knowing if he was even alive.

"Jones gave me one while you were with Diana." Neal explained.

"Oh, well next time just give me a heads up, will you? I nearly had a heart attack."

"You were worried." Neal smiled.

"No…I was just…concerned about the paperwork that would be involved if you died."

"Right." Neal wasn't convinced. Peter was terrible at comforting people, so he didn't expect anything less than a 'more paperwork' excuse. Truthfully, it felt good that Peter was worried about him, even though he didn't come right out and say it, Neal knew. They weren't just the FBI agent and the con artist anymore; they were partners.

"Actually, there still is going to be a lot of paperwork. You did technically get shot, and you're just a consultant."

"Lovely." Neal sighed and turned his head to look down the street. That's when Peter noticed something on the back of Neal's head.

"Neal, did you hit your head?" Peter's voice was full of concern.

Neal unconsciously rose up his arm and felt the back of his head and winced. When he pulled his hand away, there was blood visible. "Oh…"

"Dammit, Neal. Why didn't you tell me you hurt your head?" Peter moved closer to get a better look at Neal's wound.

"I didn't notice, honest." Neal wasn't aware he fell that hard.

"It's fine." Peter sighed as he saw flashing lights approaching. "Look, the ambulance is here."

"Oh joy."

"Come on, let's get you looked at." Peter said as they made their way over to the EMS.

After a quick check-up, Neal was free to go. Luckily, there were no broken ribs. The EMS said that he would have bruising on the area where he got shot and some soreness too. Closer inspection to his head just revealed a minor scrape that would heal over time. He was told to just take some over-the-counter meds for the pain and to take it easy for a few days. After a few minutes in the Taurus, Peter spoke up.

"I called Elizabeth when you were getting looked at. She's getting the guest room ready for you."

"Peter, that's really not necessary. They said I'd be fine."

"Stop worrying, alright? You're not imposing or anything, we don't mind. Plus, it'll be easier in the morning since I won't have to get you. Do you still have those spare suits in the closet upstairs?"

"Yeah, they're still there."

"Then it's settled." Peter smiled, knowing that he won.

In no time, they arrived at Peter's house. When they got inside, Elizabeth was sitting on the couch watching TV with Satchmo at her feet.

"Oh, Neal, are you alright? Peter told me what happened." Elizabeth said, going into mother-hen mode, as she got up and hugged Neal gently.

"Yeah, just a little sore. Nothing I can't handle." Neal assured her.

"I already have the guest room set up for you."

"Thanks, both of you." Neal looked at Peter and Elizabeth. He didn't know what he deserved to have people like them in his life. Elizabeth was always kind and considerate. Neal knew that Peter always had his back. That was proven not only tonight, but on practically all the other cases they've solved.

"No problem." Peter wrapped his arms around Elizabeth.

"Okay, boys, dinner should be ready in a few. Why don't you go wash up?"

After washing up, Peter and Neal help set the table for dinner. When everything was finished, they began devouring the delicious steak and potatoes Elizabeth cooked up. The three of them made small talk throughout the night.

"Elizabeth, this was delicious. You'll have to share your secret." Neal said as he cleared up his pate.

"Of course, I'd be more than happy to." Elizabeth looked over to see Peter retreating from the kitchen. "Peter, wait, you're forgetting desert! I made your favorite, apple pie."

Peter stopped walking and turned around at the mention of pie. "I'll go get the plates."

"Apple pie is his favorite? I guess that makes sense, another classic dish for a classic man." Neal said as he poured coffee into three mugs.

"What can I say? The simple things please him." Elizabeth started to cut the pie when Peter came back out with the plates. Within minutes the three of them all happily ate their slice.

"El, this is fantastic. I don't know how you do it." Peter praised as he pushed his clean plate away from him. "I'm stuffed. I don't think I can eat anymore pie even if I wanted to!" He reached over to pour some more coffee into his mug when Elizabeth slapped his hand and picked up the pot.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"Come on Peter, she didn't even hit you that hard." Neal laughed.

"You've already had a cup. You promised you'd cut back on the caffeine." Elizabeth reminded him.

"Right, how could I forget?" Peter said sarcastically. He took a look at his watch, surprised at how late it had gotten. "Well, I think I'm going to hit the hay. We have an early day tomorrow."

"I'm going to head up too." Neal pushed in his chair and put his dishes in the dishwasher. "Thanks again for dinner Elizabeth."

"It's no problem, sweetie. You're welcome here anytime." Elizabeth, being careful not to squeeze Neal's ribs, gave him a hug.

"Night, Peter." Neal nodded to the agent.

"See you in the morning." Peter went back to the kitchen to wrap up the rest of the pie. When he went upstairs, he found his wife already in bed reading a book. He changed into his own pajamas and then wrapped his arms around Elizabeth.

"Dinner was great, hon." Peter kissed her.

"It was nothing special." She kissed back. "I just thought my two favorite men deserved a well-cooked homemade meal after a hard day at work. You caught the guy who shot Neal, right?"

"Yeah, we got him. I'm sure we're going to have a lot to deal with tomorrow."

"Well, then you better rest up." She kissed him once more. "Goodnight, honey."

* * *

><p>When Peter awoke the next morning to his alarm, he felt the right side of the bed empty. He then remembered Elizabeth had an early meeting with a client. After stretching out, he slowly made his way out of bed and downstairs. Peter then came across a sticky note on the kitchen table.<p>

_Went out to walk Satchmo. Be back soon._

_Neal_

_PS: Don't even think about touching the coffee pot. I promised Elizabeth I wouldn't let you near it._

Peter laughed at the thought of his wife ordering Neal to keep him away from his own coffee pot. It was going to be a long morning. He walked out into the living room with his _Super Sugar O's_ cereal and put the news on. As soon as he sat down, the front door opened to reveal Neal and Satchmo.

"Glad to see you're awake." Neal kneeled down to remove the leash from Satch's collar.

"Thanks for walking Satch." Peter watched his energy-filled dog run to him, nearly nocking his cereal out of his hands. He put the bowl down and scratched Satch behind his ears.

"It's the least I can do." Neal looked at the cereal box on the table. "Hey, did you get the t—"

"No, it didn't come with any toys." Peter interrupted. "I asked El especially not to get the one with the prize."

"Killjoy." Neal muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing, I just said that you should probably get dressed so we can leave."

"Of course you did." Peter finished his cereal and got up to put the bowl in the sink. When he put the cereal away, he could make out the sound of Neal heading back upstairs. Peter swiftly made his way over to the coffee pot. Nobody had to know. Besides, they both have a long day of work ahead of them and he needs his coffee. Peter was just about to place a clean filter into the machine when he spotted a pink piece of paper. He pulled it out to reveal another sticky note.

_Honey, I hope that you aren't reading this. If you are, that means two things._

_1. Neal isn't good at following orders. (I'm sure you think that all the time)_

_2. You are going behind my back._

_Peter, do the right thing._

_Call me if you can make it home for dinner.  
><em>

_xoxo _

_El_

Damn, his wife knew him well. Peter refolded the note and placed it back in place. When he turned around he nearly jumped in the air.

"Neal!"

"Hey, you really should get ready. You said yourself we had to be in early."

"How long have you been standing there?" Peter asked calmly.

"Long enough to know you were going behind your wife's back."

"You don't—" Peter started but was interrupted by Neal.

"Even longer enough to know that you weren't going to make any coffee." Neal winked. "You're secret's safe, Peter."

"Thanks. Let me take a quick shower and we'll head out." Peter made his way upstairs as Neal sat down to watch some TV with Satchmo.

* * *

><p>When Neal and Peter arrived at the office 30 minutes later, they were greeted by Jones.<p>

"Hey. How are you holding up?" Jones looked at Neal.

"Just a little sore, but it's all good." Neal glanced up into the conference room. "Wait, is that Sawyers in there?"

Peter narrowed his eyes. "Jones, what's going on here? I thought Diana handled the interrogation last night?"

"She did, Boss. We booked him on attempted murder since we didn't get any audio of him talking about his fake auditing business. But the weird thing is that early this morning, he asked to be brought here."

"Why?"

"He wants to talk to _you_." Jones finished.

"Well, I say we go talk to him. See if he has an angle." Neal started walking to the stairs.

"Hold up," Peter grabbed Neal's arm, "do you really want to be in the same room as this guy? He did try to kill you."

"Peter, I could give you a list of all the people who would want me dead. I just want to find out who tipped Sawyers off about my cover." Neal explained.

"Yeah, well that makes two of us." Peter looked up into to the interrogation room to see Sawyers patiently sitting there. "Okay, let's go see what he has to say."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN): **Pshh, you didn't think I'd let Neal get shot this early off, did you? Haha, well I hope you all liked the chapter anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N):** Thanks for all the great reviews/alerts/reviews, they really mean a lot! Here's the third chapter, hope you all like it! I don't own anything (except in my dreams...) and any mistakes you find belong to me.

* * *

><p>When Neal and Peter entered the interrogation room, Sawyers looked pretty calm for someone who just got booked on attempted murder.<p>

"Agent Burke." Sawyers greeted. "And Neal Caffrey. I see you are doing well." He added with a smirk.

"Cut the crap Sawyers." Peter was not in the mood. "You asked to talk to me, so here I am."

"Fine. I wanted to talk to you to get a reduced sentence." Sawyers said bluntly.

Peter laughed. "Yeah, don't count on that happening." Even though Neal didn't get seriously hurt, Peter was ticked off that Sawyers took a shot at him. He hated putting Neal in the way of danger like that. It's a calculated risk, but after all, he's just a consultant. Peter turned around and began to walk out with Neal in tow.

"I wasn't finished yet, Agent." Sawyers said harshly. "I'm willing to offer you information on the guy who contacted me about the FBI. I'm sure you and your little team would be interested in this so I asked to be brought here."

"Peter, he might have some real info on this guy. It couldn't hurt." Neal whispered.

"Alright." Peter gestured to the folder on the table. "Is this your evidence?"

"Yes, Sir. It's all right there. About a week ago, I got a phone call on my personal number telling me to look in my mailbox. When I asked who it was, the man hung up. I went to my mailbox and found this folder containing your file on me as well as Mr. Caffrey's file."

"And did you get any more phone calls?" Neal inquired as Peter opened the file and looked at the various papers.

"No, just that one." Sawyers thought for a moment. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone has it out for you, Caffrey."

Peter and Neal exchanged a brief look. "Okay, that's all we need. I'll be sure to speak to my boss about reducing your sentence." He motioned for Jones to come in. Sawyers stood up and Jones handcuffed him before they started heading out of the room.

"Hold on, Sawyers." Peter spoke up. "While you're here, are there any other crimes you'd like to admit too? Like, oh…I don't know…a certain fake appraisal business?"

Sawyers smiled. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." He turned to Neal. "Goodbye Mr. Caffrey." He paused. "I have to say, if we were under different circumstances, I would have hired you."

"Good to know." Neal said coolly.

"Thank you for your time, Agent Burke." Sawyers nodded toward Peter as Jones lead him out of the room.

"A least we have a lead now." Neal said as he looked at Sawyers' files.

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, let's get started." Peter sat down and began to get a closer look at all the papers.

* * *

><p>It was nearly noon when the team decided on disbanding for lunch. They were looking further into any of Sawyers' co-workers and his phone logs. So far, nothing suspicious turned up.<p>

"Hey, I'm going to go check up with Moz and see if he can find anything on his end." Neal got up from his chair.

"Sounds good. Be back here in an hour." Peter didn't look up from his paper.

Neal had already texted Mozzie to meet him at the famous oyster bar by Grand Central that they have yet to try. By the time he made his way there, he spotted Mozzie standing outside the building.

"Took you long enough. I was about to head in by myself."

"Cut me some slack here, Moz. We've had a ton of paperwork." Neal spoke tiredly.

"You are starting to sound like the Suit." Mozzie remarked.

Neal pretended to ignore that. "Here, I only have an hour. Let's go get a table." Neal and Mozzie made their way into the restaurant. After ordering, Neal told Mozzie about the case and of course all about last night.

"I don't know what I can find out on my end. There isn't much to go on." Mozzie took a sip of his wine.

"It wouldn't hurt to try." Neal looked up at a clock on the wall. "I gotta start heading back now." He placed some cash on the table.

"Always on a schedule." Mozzie shook his head. "Just another sacrifice you get from working for the man."

Neal sighed. "I'll see you later." He got out of his chair and began to head back to the office.

* * *

><p>When Neal got back to the 21st floor, he found Peter in his office, buried in work. He knocked once and let himself him.<p>

"Did you take a break yet?" Neal eyed the brown paper bag in the trash.

"Yeah. I grabbed a sandwich from the deli down the block."

"Let me guess, deviled ham?" Neal contorted his face since he could still smell the remains of Peter's sandwich coming from the trash can.

"It wasn't as good as the ones El makes, though." Peter said, just as his phone rang. "Burke. Really? Well, did it work? Damn. Okay, thanks." He hung up angrily.

"Whoa, who was that?"

"It was forensics." Peter sighed.

"Forensics?" Neal wondered what they needed them for.

"Yep. I sent the files down to them to be dusted for any prints."

"Oh, did they find anything?"

"Most of them were Sawyers'. But there was one that wasn't his."

"That's great. Did they find out whose it was?" Neal asked hopefully, despite how Peter's phone call had went.

"No. It was a partial print. They ran it through the database but it wasn't clear enough to get a match."

"Look on the bright side…" Neal began.

"Uh, what bright side? There is no bright side." Peter said firmly.

"Gosh, Peter, it's just an expression people use when things look bad."

"Things do look bad. We have absolutely nothing on this guy." Peter threw his hands up in the air. "What the hell are we supposed to do?"

"See, this is where I disagree with Elizabeth. You get too grouchy when you don't have your coffee."

"Neal, we don't have time to fool around here. If some guy knew about your cover and the whole Sawyer case, he must have good connections. And it's possible that he could screw up another undercover operation too."

Neal thought for a moment. "Wait, Peter, during the meeting with Sawyers', didn't he say that he thought someone had it out for me?"

"Yeah, he did. But, seriously, are you going to believe anything that guy says?"

"It wouldn't hurt to look into it." Neal suggested.

"What, are we going to look into anyone you've ever pissed off? I have a feeling it's going to be a long list." Peter stifled a laugh.

Neal rolled his eyes at Peter comment. "We can cross-reference it with whatever Mozzie finds out on his end."

"Okay, fine. Go call Mozzie and catch him up. I'll go tell Jones and Diana." Peter followed Neal out of the office and went to find the rest of his team.

* * *

><p>Nighttime was quickly setting over New York City. Peter, Jones, Diana, and Neal were currently spread out all over the board room. For the past few hours, they had been checking up on any of Neal's known rivals that were hanging around the city. Peter had been right; it was a <em>long<em> list. Of course, they were looking into any other people who might be involved. Thankfully, Jones had taken a break earlier and got everyone some Chinese for dinner.

Diana spoke up, "Here, what about Joey Abbot?"

Neal picked up a stack of files that he acquired from Mozzie. "No, he checked into a hotel in Texas the day Sawyers got the package."

"Check Ted Gregory." Jones flipped through some papers.

"It says here that Gregory was shot and killed a day before Sawyers received the info." Peter put down the file and looked at the time. "We've been at this for hours. Let's all go home and get a good night's sleep and start this up again tomorrow. We've gotten through more than half of these names, so it's a start." He stood up and stretched out his neck.

"Sounds good to me." Jones said, thankful he didn't have to spend another night looking over files.

"Goodnight, Boss." Diana also got up. "Bye Neal."

"Bye." Neal started stacking up files as Jones and Diana exited the office.

"Do you really think this is going to lead us anywhere?" Peter asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea."

"Alright, let's just get home. We can finish tomorrow." Peter flicked off the lights in the office before heading to the elevator with Neal.

When Peter finally made it home after dropping Neal off at June's, it was almost midnight. He unlocked the front door and closed it softly, careful not to wake Elizabeth. Peter took off his shoes and starting heading upstairs, making sure not to put too much pressure on that one squeaky step. Once at the top of the stairs, he could see a light on from inside their bedroom. Peter opened the door to find Elizabeth reading a book next to Satchmo.

"Hey, hon. I didn't think you'd still be up." Peter walked over and gave his wife a kiss and then scratched behind Satch's ears.

"I haven't seen you all day. Plus, I really need to finish and return this book to Yvonne soon." Elizabeth yawned as she placed her bookmark where she left off and put the book on the nightstand. "Come on Satch, Daddy needs to get some sleep." Satchmo jumped off the bed and retreated to his own by the door.

"I'll be right back." Peter went into the bathroom. A few minutes later, he came out and saw Elizabeth already sleeping. Smiling, he got into bed and brushed a stray hair from her face. After a stressful day at work, Peter was thankful that he could come home to this. Turning out the light, he whispered, "Goodnight, honey."

* * *

><p>It was another day in the White Collar office as Neal made his way up to the 21st floor. He talked to Mozzie last night and sadly, nothing shady has shown up. Whoever this guy was, he was talented at covering his tracks. After exiting the elevator, Neal spotted Peter diligently working in his office. He went to his own desk to place his fedora down and went up to meet Peter.<p>

"Good morning. You find anything?"

"Hey. Oh, no. Nothing came up. I had a brief meeting with Hughes earlier and he gave us a new case."

"What? How can he give us a new case? This guy is still out there, Peter." Neal sat down in his usual chair.

"I know, but Hughes doesn't want us to waste our time looking into things we aren't even sure about." Peter handed Neal a new file. "So, this is our new case. Meet Rodger Greene. He's suspected of identity theft and counterfeiting."

Neal flipped through Greene's file. "This is pretty cut and dry."

"Exactly. I'm hoping if we just continue business as usual, our mystery man will show up on our radar again." Peter explained, taking a sip of coffee.

"Peter, is that what I think it is?" Neal pretended to look horrified.

"Be quiet. This is office coffee. And I'm not even sure if it can qualify as coffee." Peter put the mug down. "Plus Elizabeth said I can treat myself today, for your information."

"That's great 'cause I don't know if I could handle you being grumpy today without your coffee." Neal stood up.

"Why do you keep saying that? I do not get grumpy without coffee." Peter saw Jones walk by his office. "Hey, Jones!" He called.

"Yeah, boss?" Jones leaned into Peter's office.

"Jones, please tell Peter he's extremely irritable without his coffee, or any caffeine for that matter." Neal placed his hands in his pockets.

"I don't think so." Peter shook his head. "Jones, tell Neal that he's wrong."

Jones looked from Neal to Peter. "Uh…sorry, I think Diana just called me." He quickly walked out.

"See, he just doesn't want to admit it." Neal smiled.

"Whatever. Let's go round up team." Peter grabbed Greene's file and walked to the conference room with Neal.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):** I had already planned things to happen later in the story but didn't want them happening too fast so this chapter was born. I **promise** the next one will be more interesting ;) Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N):** I'm truly blown away at how many people enjoying this! You guys are fantastic. Any mistakes you find are mine and I don't own anything.

* * *

><p>At the moment, it was just Neal and Peter in the conference room. Jones and Diana set not too long ago to ask around about Greene. Greene had made some recent bank deposits from Midtown Mutual, confirming their suspicion that he was still in the city. They hadn't found anything new on their mystery man, but he had to show up sooner or later. The two men had been quiet at work for some time, so Peter decided to break the ice.<p>

"So…Elizabeth has this huge event planned tonight and won't be home for dinner. Would you wanna come over order a pizza or something?" he offered. Even though Peter didn't say anything, he still felt Neal was in some sort of danger since they haven't found out who leaked their files. Having Neal around a bit more just in case something was to happen remained fine with him. Of course, Peter didn't mind having the consultant over for dinner and drinks either.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds great." Neal put the file he was looking at down. "Just wondering, they don't put deviled ham on pizza do they? In that case, I'd have to take a rain check."

"Ha, ha, very funny. And no, as far as I know they don't. But, I could always ask Elizabeth to try making one herself. You can even taste test for her."

"That's a big fat no. I'm sure Elizabeth would understand considering no one but you actually eats deviled ham."

Peter was just about to make another sarcastic response when Jones and Diana came in.

"Hey, boss. Find anything?" Jones pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Nothing other than the bank deposits. Were you guys any luckier?" Peter asked hopefully.

"Actually, we were. I talked to the manager at the bar right by Midtown Mutual and showed him a picture of Greene. He said that Greene is definitely a regular at the bar. The last time he saw Greene was two days ago and he was with some friends." Diana informed them.

"And that is the same day that Greene deposited 150 grand into his account." Jones said.

"Looks like he was out celebrating with his buddies." Peter stood up. "Great work you guys. Neal and I are going to go work from home. If we see any more deposits in his account, now we'll know where to look."

"See you both tomorrow." Diana went back to her desk along with Jones.

* * *

><p>Before leaving the office, Peter placed in the order for the pizza. They decided to go with a plain cheese pizza since both of them couldn't agree on a topping. Upon arriving at the Burke household, they were greeted by an extremely hyper Satchmo, who nearly knocked the pizza box out of Neal's hand. Once they took some slices out of the box, Peter cracked open some beer and brought out some wine for Neal, which Elizabeth thankfully kept around.<p>

Neal had a feeling Peter was keeping a closer eye on him. Peter has a way of showing that he cares, which in this case, was inviting him over for pizza and drinks. Though, he can't say he has a problem with it. After all, whoever this mystery guy is, wants him dead. If there's one person Neal would want to watch his back, it would be Peter. No doubt about it.

"Then my superior agent at the time told us to bust in. So, you know, I thrust open the doors to the van, about to jump out, and end up falling out right on my face." Peter concluded his story. "It was my first time in the van and I made a lasting impression."

Neal couldn't contain his laughter. It took a while but he finally stopped laughing long enough to actually breathe. "Wow, I can't believe they kept you around."

"Yeah, well, other than that, I did good work. We ended up catching the suspect anyway so it was fine." Peter took a swig of his beer. "Okay, I told you my embarrassing moment, now you."

"Peter, I don't think so." Neal put down his wine glass. "I haven't drunken that much."

"I guess it must be pretty bad then." Peter chuckled.

"Or maybe I've never been embarrassed like you." Neal countered.

"Oh, you're right. I forgot that I'm talking to the Great Neal Caffrey. What was I thinking?" Peter's voice was dripping with sarcasm. He turned his attention toward Satchmo, who just made his way over to him. "Hey, boy." Peter rubbed Satch. "I'll be right back, I think he needs to be let out." Peter got up and grabbed the leash and hooked it to Satch's collar and went out the front door.

It was five minutes later when Peter came back inside with Satchmo. He unhooked the leach and Satch went straight to Neal.

"I'm going to start cleaning things up for the night." Peter announced. He was surprised when Neal didn't respond. "Neal?" Peter turned to look at the figure on his couch and couldn't help but smile at what he saw. Neal was already fast asleep on his side with Satchmo on the floor wagging his tail. The young man looked so peaceful in his slumber; Peter couldn't bring himself to wake him up. Instead, he grabbed a blanket from an adjacent chair and carefully draped it over Neal. A few minutes into clearing out the pizza box and the empty beer bottles, Peter heard the front door opening.

"Peter?" He heard Elizabeth call out.

"Coming." When Peter made his way out of the kitchen, he found his wife staring at the couch. He walked over and gave her a kiss. Neal was still out of it, but now so was Satchmo. The dog was now nestled right next to the couch.

"Oh, Peter, can we keep him?" Elizabeth smiled. The sight of Satch and Neal both asleep was just priceless.

"Don't you think he's over here enough?" Peter joked, but Elizabeth gave him a weak punch in the arm. "I guess I deserved that. So how was the event?"

"It went perfect! The clients loved how everything turned out. I'm sure I'll be hearing from them again." Elizabeth whispered happily.

"That's fantastic, honey." Peter paused to yawn. "I think it's time to get to bed ourselves."

"You think he'll be okay down here? The couch isn't that comfortable."

"He'll be fine, don't worry so much. Now, let's get upstairs." Peter finally led Elizabeth upstairs to their warm bed.

* * *

><p>Neal felt something wet on his hand. He tried to ignore it, but to no avail. After moving around a bit, he noticed that he wasn't sleeping on June's divine silk sheets. Neal unwillingly opened his eyes to find himself at the Burke's. He figured that somewhere between the pizza, wine, beer, and embarrassing stories, he must have dozed off. A closer look around revealed the source of the wetness on his hand: it was Satchmo licking him.<p>

"Good morning, Satch." Neal rubbed Satch's head.

"Glad to see you're up." Neal looked up and saw Peter coming down the stairs, dressed for the office.

"You should have woken me up last night. I could have just gone home." Neal said as he stretched out.

"Seriously, it was no big deal. We can stop at June's before the office so you can freshen up." Neal got up and put his shoes on as Peter grabbed all the files on Greene. Right as they were walking to the door, Elizabeth came down stairs.

"You boys heading out?" Elizabeth walked over to the mirror to finish putting in her earrings.

Peter nodded. "But we'll stop by June's first so Neal can get ready."

"Thanks again for letting me sleep here." Neal said sincerely.

"Oh, sweetie, anytime." Elizabeth smiled as she walked over to Peter and gave him a goodbye kiss. "Call me if you can make dinner, okay?"

"I will." Peter opened the door. "Bye, honey." And with that, the two men set out for June's.

Neal decided to take a quick shower before heading to the office. Meanwhile, Peter was looking over Greene's files again on the terrace, even though they've been over them all numerous times. He stopped reading after a while and got up to lean up against the ledge of the roof, taking in the sight.

"It never gets old, does it?"

Peter spun around and saw that Neal was already dressed. He didn't even hear him get out of the shower.

"How did you…?" Peter started to ask.

"Are you forgetting who I am?" Neal smirked.

"Yeah, yeah." Peter threw up a hand. "Let's go."

Jones and Diana were already hard at work in the conference room when they arrived at the office. Peter loved seeing these two working together and he couldn't imagine his team without either of them. Both provided great insight and were always reliable. He would even go as far as to say that his team was the best in the whole division.

"What are you guys up to?"

"Morning boss." Jones greeted. "Neal." he nodded towards the consultant.

"Anything come up?" Neal asked.

"Not yet, but we met with the manager from the bar we told you about earlier. We got him to sit with a sketch artist to help identify the other guys with Greene that were at the bar with him." Diana spread out the sketches. "We've identified them all. Joe Nickles, Mike Binns, and Eddy Vick." she pointed to each picture as she said the names.

"They've all been involved in some petty crimes as far back as 2006." Jones added.

"This is great work. I guess all we can do now is wait and see if Greene makes anymore deposits. If he does, I'll bet anything he'll be at that bar right after."

"I can go on a quick coffee run if you guys want anything." Jones announced. "I'm not really in the mood for mud today." he joked, referring to the office coffee. "Will the usual be alright?" Neal, Peter, and Diana nodded. "Well, I'll be right back." Jones got up and exited the office.

"I have to say, Peter, I'm surprised you've lasted this long on so little caffeine." Neal smirked.

"You underestimate me." Peter retorted. "A little can go a long way."

It was about 10 minutes later when Jones came back with the coffee.

"Here," Jones looked at the side of the cup, "this is yours, Diana."

Diana gladly accepted. "Mmm," she took a sip, "this is just what I needed."

"This is for you, boss." he handed Peter his cup. "One for Neal and one for me."

"Thanks, Clinton." Peter was about to take a sip of his coffee when he clicked something on the computer. "Wait, come look at this." He placed his cup down. "Greene just made another deposit."

Neal took a sip of his coffee. "Do you think he'll celebrate again?"

"You're the criminal consultant, you tell me." Peter raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you'd do? Go and celebrate a recent success?"

"Of course." Neal paused to drink some more of his coffee. "But, I wouldn't be stupid enough to keep going to the same bar. People will start to recognize you, which is exactly what happened for Greene."

"Sounds like it's time for some surveillance in the van." Jones stated nonchalantly. "I'll go make sure a van is available." he walked out.

"I'll go tell Hughes we made a break. He said he'd like us to keep him updated on the case." Diana said as she also got up.

Peter got up and started gathering files along with Jones and Diana. He glanced at Neal, who was rubbing his temples. "Neal?" He grew concerned when the younger man didn't answer him. "Hey, Neal, are you alright?" Peter said a little bit louder.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm fine." Neal smiled and got up, but wavered a bit as he held on to a chair.

"You don't look fine."

"Peter, it's just a headache or something. Don't worry." Neal assured him.

"If you don't feel good, we can drop you off at June's." Peter offered.

"No, that's not necessary. I'll just go take something for it."

"Alright." Peter said hesitantly. "Let's head out. We don't even know when or if Greene will show up." He grabbed the files and left the conference room with Neal following behind. As he made his way down the stairs, he heard a thud and a couple of gasps coming from surrounding agents and clerks. Peter turned around and saw Neal on the floor, with his eyes closed. He dropped all the files he was holding and went down to his partner.

"Neal?" Peter gently slapped Neal's face, but the latter didn't stir. There was a thin layer of sweat forming on Neal's forehead. "Neal, come on, wake up." he shook the consultant's shoulder but Neal didn't move. Peter looked up and shouted to no one in particular, "Someone call 911!"

* * *

><p>Poisoned.<p>

He let Neal get poisoned right under his nose.

Peter was sitting alone in a cold hospital room along with Neal, who hasn't woken up yet. The only noise was the steady beep of the heart rate monitor. He called Elizabeth not too long ago and told her what happened. She said she was on her way right before hanging up. Thankfully, the doctors were able to pinpoint the poison and administer an antidote. They said Neal should wake up soon and there shouldn't be any long term affects. It seems like their mystery man has struck again, this time not messing around. Peter heard his phone start ringing and looked at the caller-ID, which showed a restricted number. He pressed the accept button and held the phone against his hear.

"Hello?"

"_Good afternoon, Agent Burke."_

"Who is this?"

"_Oh, you'll find out soon enough."_

"What do you want?" Peter asked angrily.

"_I was just calling to see how your dear consultant is doing. And if you liked that little stunt, don't worry, I have plenty more where that came from."_

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):** Uh, oh! Hmm, I wonder who this mystery man is! Oh, wait, I already know...haha. You'll find out soon, don't worry. Hope you liked it and thanks for reading! Don't forget to watch/dvr the season 3 premier tomorrow night at 9! But I bet you already knew that ;) And in case you didn't know, the Pilot, Withdrawal, and a sneak peak of On Guard are all free on itunes. I apologize for this extremely long note, but thanks again!


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N): **Woo! Chapter 5, here we go! Thanks for all the reviews/alerts/favorites! I don't own anything and any mistakes you find are mine.

* * *

><p>Neal knew something was wrong. He could hear Peter talking to him, but the agent's voice sounded distant and far off. Everything was starting to spin around him. Neal saw Peter talking to Diana and took the moment to massage the side of his head. Migraines hadn't been a problem for years, so why would they come up now?<p>

"Hey, Neal, are you alright?" Peter had a concerned look on his face. It seemed like this wasn't his first attempt at getting Neal's attention.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I'm fine." Neal tried to recover from his mishap. They were just going to the van; he could make it there and just relax. He got out of his chair and started to walk, but everything started to spin. Neal grabbed onto the nearest chair. He desperately hoped Peter didn't see it.

"You don't look fine." Okay, so maybe he had.

"Peter, it's just a headache or something. Don't worry." Neal smiled, trying to act natural.

"If you don't feel good, we can drop you off at June's."

"No, that's not necessary." he protested. "I'll just go take something for it."

"Alright." He saw Peter grab the files from the table and walk out.

_One foot in front of the other._ _I got this._ Neal thought as held on to the railing going down the stairs right behind Peter. But, everything turned black before he even made it all the way down.

* * *

><p>It was freezing when Neal woke up. And it smelt strangely like antiseptic. He felt around and this time, and the sheets were definitely not from June's or the Burke's. Neal opened his eyes and found Peter reading the newspaper from across the room.<p>

"Reading anything interesting?" Neal spoke up, breaking the silence in the small room.

Peter put down his paper. "Neal?"

"In the flesh." he flashed a grin, trying to lighten the situation. "So…ah…what happened that landed me here?"

"What do you remember?" Peter asked hesitantly.

Neal thought for a moment. "We were getting ready to leave the conference room. Everything was spinning…and I was just going to take something for it in the van." he frowned, "I'm guessing I never got that far, did I?" Neal didn't let it show, but it bothered him that he couldn't even recall what happened.

"No, you didn't." Peter paused. "Neal, you were poisoned."

"What?" Neal was in disbelief. There wasn't any way that he could have been poisoned today. He skipped breakfast and only had the coffee that Jones brought in. _Wait…_ "Coffee." he thought out loud. "Peter, it was the coffee wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Luckily, the doctors were able to give you something in time." Peter stood up and moved his chair closer to Neal's bed. "Elizabeth's here too, she just took a bathroom break."

"She didn't have to come."

"You try telling her that." Peter said just as Elizabeth entered the room.

"Neal! You're awake!" Elizabeth quickly walked over to the bed and gave the consultant a big hug. "When I got Peter's phone call, I thought the worst. We're so glad you're okay."

"I'm fine, don't worry." Neal smiled. He looked up and saw that Jones was coming through the door.

"Hello, everyone." Jones greeted. "Neal, you doing alright?"

Neal nodded. "Any chance I can leave now?"

"The doctor said they'd need to check on you if you woke up, then you could leave." Elizabeth said. "I just saw your doctor outside, I'll go get him." she made her way out of the room.

"Jones, what did forensics find?" Peter inquired.

"All our coffee cups were clean, just our prints." Jones said with a sigh. "But obviously, Neal's was they only one tampered with."

"Alright. I want the names of all the employees at the coffee shop and—"

"Boss, there's something you should know." Jones interrupted. "I didn't get the coffee. A probie offered to go get them, so I wrote down what everyone wanted. He came back a few minutes later with all the coffees, I thanked him, and that was that. I didn't think anything of it. After the EMS cleared out, I couldn't find the guy. I don't even remember what he looked like." his voice was full of guilt.

"Clinton, it wasn't your fault. No one could have known this could've happened." Neal faced Jones. "I'm fine now, don't worry about it."

Jones nodded and then continued. "This guy was good. He avoided all our cameras, except one. But, we only got a snapshot of the back of his head." he handed a picture to Peter.

"Okay, I want you and Diana to ask around and see if you can get a good description of this guy. Let me know if anything comes up."

"Will do, boss." Jones turned to leave, nearly bumping into Elizabeth and the doctor.

"Glad to see you are awake, Mr. Caffrey. I'm Dr. Hemming." the doctor looked through Neal's file. "If I'm reading this correctly, your recent blood work came back fine. I can go tell the nurse and we can get you discharged."

"Great, thank you." Neal couldn't wait to get out of the hospital. He wasn't as paranoid about hospitals as Mozzie was, but he still hated them. He watched as the doctor left the room.

"Well, I have to head back to work. You two will be alright?" Elizabeth gave Neal another hug and walked over to place a kiss on Peter's cheek.

"I think we can manage." Peter got up and gave his wife a hug. "See you for dinner, honey."

"Bye." Elizabeth walked out of the room, leaving the two men alone.

"So…you're going to push me out in the wheelchair, right?" Neal looked up and saw Peter's face. "I'll take that as a no."

* * *

><p>When they arrived at June's, Peter walked up with Neal.<p>

"Are you going to head back to the office?" Neal asked as they entered his apartment.

"Not yet, I have to go meet up with someone."

"Can I come?"

"Did you forget you were just poisoned a few hours ago? No, I want you here, resting." Pete ordered.

"Well then, care to share where you're going?"

"No." Peter said simply.

"Is that your word of the day or something?"

"No." Peter smirked.

"Way to be nice to the sick guy." Neal pretended to pout. "You didn't even wheel me out."

"Please, you want to tell me that you didn't enjoy being wheeled out by that young nurse?"

"No comment. But, come on, Peter, just tell me." Neal wanted to know who Peter was going to meet, _badly_.

"No, that's final. I'll call you when I'm done. I've asked a couple of trusted agents to watch June's outside. I'm not taking risks anymore, this mystery guy is dangerous."

"Fine. Have fun while I just sit here…all alone...doing nothing…" Neal sighed as he watched Peter walk out of his apartment. He pulled out his phone and dialed a familiar number.

* * *

><p>Peter parked the Taurus and made his way inside the large building. This was the last place he wanted to be today. After flashing his badge to the guards, he made his way to the backroom. He nodded to the two other guards standing by and opened the door.<p>

"Agent Burke, I can't say I'm surprised to see you." Sawyers grinned. "I had a feeling you'd be coming by here."

Peter sat down. "I'm not here to make small talk." he pulled out a recording device and played it.

_"Hello?"_

_"__Good afternoon, Agent Burke."_

_"Who is this?"_

_"__Oh, you'll find out soon enough."_

_"What do you want?"_

_"__I was just calling to see how your dear consultant is doing. And if you liked that little stunt, don't worry, I have plenty more where that came from."_

Peter put away the recorder. "I need to know if—"

"Why yes, Agent, that is the same voice that called to tip me off about the FBI." Sawyers answered before Peter finished. "Whoever this guy is, he is bold enough to call you."

"And bold enough to get pass FBI security and poison my consultant."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I truthfully enjoyed talking to Caffrey. He's quite the character."

"I'll be sure to relay that to him." Peter turned toward the exit. "This was all I needed to know, thank you."

"Goodbye, Agent Burke." Sawyers said as the guard gestured for him to stand up and go back to his cell.

* * *

><p>"Coming." Neal got up to open the door. "Peter, you didn't call."<p>

"I thought I'd just stop by instead." Peter walked inside and spotted Mozzie, sipping some wine.

"Suit, it's about time you showed up."

"Hello to you too, Mozzie. So, what have you guys been up to?"

"Nothing illegal, if that's what you're thinking." Mozzie saw Peter raise his eyebrows. "Just…putting it out there."

"Really, Peter, I was just catching Moz up about our recent find." Neal said honestly.

"I need more than a fuzzy image of the back of some guy's head to go off of." Mozzie stated. "You know, Russian Surplus has this great new model out that has overwhelmingly better quality than whatever piece of junk that took this picture." he tossed the snapshot of the mystery man on the table.

Peter was just about to make a remark when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his jacket and answered. "Burke."

"_Hey, boss." _Diana's voice came from over the phone. _"I just thought I'd update you on what's going on."_

"Any progress?"

"_Yes. Turns out there aren't any new probies in the unit so somehow our mystery man made it past security and up here. Right now we are collecting physical descriptions of our mystery man. When we're done talking to everyone, we'll send all the descriptions to a sketch artist and finally get a clear face for this guy."_

"Great job. Why don't you and Jones finish up and head home. It's almost dinner time and we've all had a long day."

"_Of course."_

Peter said goodbye and hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" Neal asked.

"They are just compiling descriptions of our guy and they'll send them over to a sketch artist when they're done."

Neal nodded. "You want anything to drink? I'm sure there's a beer or two left over in the fridge."

"Maybe another time. I've made plans with Elizabeth."

"Give Mrs. Suit my regards." Mozzie raised his glass.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at the usual time, okay?" Peter said as his phone rang, once again. Looking at the caller-id, he saw that it was coming from home. "El, I'm just about to leave Neal's."

_"Peter,"_ Elizabeth whispered nervously, _"there's someone in the house! Wh—what should I do?"_

Peter stiffened and Neal and Mozzie wondered what was wrong. "Honey, where are you right now?" he tried to stay calm.

_"I'm upstairs, in the bedroom. Oh, Peter! I can hear him walking around downstairs!"_

"El, listen to me, okay? I want you to get the gun inside the nightstand and hide under the bed. Can you do that for me?" Peter kept his voice steady.

_"Okay, I have the gun. I'm under the bed."_ she whispered. _"Peter, he's coming upstairs!"_

"Hon, stay as still as you can. You can do this." Peter wanted more than nothing to rush over to the house, but he knew that by the time he got there, the man would be gone. The only thing he could do right now was instruct and comfort his wife. Elizabeth's soft breathing could be heard over the receiver. After a minute or two, he heard a door close and Elizabeth let out a breath.

_"I can hear him going out the front door."_

"Just stay upstairs, I'm leaving Neal's now. I love you."

_"I love you too, just hurry."_ Elizabeth ended the call.

"Peter, what was that?" Neal asked worriedly.

"Someone broke in and Elizabeth was upstairs."

Mozzie looked horrified. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah. Listen, I need to g—"Peter was interrupted by his phone. "Dammit! Who is it now?" he took a deep breath and answered it. "Burke."

"_You asked what I wanted, and it's simple."_

"What the hell do you want?" Peter nearly shouted, making Mozzie jump.

"_It's simple, Burke, I want revenge."_

* * *

><p><strong>(AN): **Looks like Sawyers was helpful after all! For some reason, I kinda liked writing his character. Sorry if the hospital part seemed rushed, there wasn't much I could write while everyone was there. I appologize for not updating yesterday, between watching the season 2 dvd (which I **highly **suggest purchasing), watching the season 3 premier (fantastic by the way), and studying for my final exam of the year, I couldn't find the time! Thankfully, sophomore year is over and summer is finally here! :) Oh, and I read that On Guard is free on iTunes but I haven't actually checked yet. Okay, wow, this was super long, let me just finish by saying thanks for reading and all the lovely reviews!**_  
><em>**


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N):** I am extremely flattered by all the nice reviews! Thank you! I don't own anything and any mistakes you find belong to me.

* * *

><p>As soon as Peter got in the Taurus, he rushed home as fast as he could in the rush hour traffic. Luckily, there wasn't too much congestion on the roads. When Peter got to the front door, there were obvious signs of breaking and entering.<p>

"El, honey? It's just me, I'm home!" Peter called out. Upstairs, he heard Elizabeth open the bedroom door and run down the stairs.

"Peter!" Elizabeth rushed into her husband's arms. There were no words to describe how happy she was to see him. After a few moments of embrace, she spoke. "Oh, I'm so glad you're home."

"Me too." Peter rubbed her back affectionately.

"I can't believe this! The incident with Neal and now this!" she ran her fingers through her hair. "Just tell me, are you close to catching this guy?"

"There are agents working on it right now. I have some people watching Neal outside June's. I could call for someone to come and watch the house, but I have a feeling the mystery man won't take his chances by coming back."

"If you say so. Come on, I haven't started cooking anything yet, wanna help?" Elizabeth held Peter's hand and led him toward the kitchen. Making dinner would be an excellent distraction. Turning toward the kitchen, they both stopped suddenly.

"Satch?" Peter saw the dog huddled against the wall right by the door to the kitchen. Satch started to get up but had trouble. When he began to walk, he wasn't putting pressure on his back leg. "You alright, buddy?" Peter kneeled down and heard Satch whimpering. "That bastard touched my dog!" he spat out angrily.

"Peter, calm down." Elizabeth put a comforting hand on his arm. "Getting all worked up about it won't help the situation. Forget about dinner, we need to take him to the vet."

"I know." he carefully picked up Satchmo and held him in his arms. "Hon, grab your purse and let's get this over with." Elizabeth ran to get the keys to the car and then they were off.

* * *

><p>Peter found Neal the next morning out on the balcony sipping Italian Roast. The door to his apartment was open, so he thought he'd just let himself in.<p>

"Morning, Peter." Neal didn't even turn around. Instead, he just poured some more coffee into his cup.

"How did you—never mind." Peter made his way over to the small table and got his own cup.

"Are you done with cutting back on the caffeine?" he watched the agent sit down across from him.

"I want to be at the top of my game, and I'll need my coffee for that."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Neal smiled. "So, how's Elizabeth? Is she alright after yesterday?"

"For the most part. She's just a little shaken up." Peter sighed. "We had to take Satch to get looked at."

"Why? What happened?"

"He must have fought back when the guy came in."

"Hmm, I've always taken him as a lover, not a fighter." Neal took a sip of his roast. "He's okay now, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Nothing too serious, he just has his leg wrapped up."

"That's good." Silence fell between them. Peter was thinking about catching this guy and Neal was thinking about what Peter would do once they did. "We should probably get going."

Peter nodded as they both got up and left for another day of work.

* * *

><p>Jones and Diana were already waiting for them to arrive at the office. Peter called them last night after going to the vet to update them on the situation. After the incident with Neal, they couldn't believe what happened with Elizabeth and Satch. When Neal and Peter walked into the bullpen, Diana came straight up to them.<p>

"Tell me you guys got something." Peter asked, hoping all their hard work finally paid off.

She smiled. "Yeah, we did. And it's big. Jones has everything in the office." Diana led the two up to the conference room.

"Diana tells us you found something." Neal said as he sat down.

Jones pulled out some sketches and handed them out. "Know this guy?" He continued since neither said anything. "His name is Jack Reid. Clean record, not even a parking ticket."

"So, this is our mystery man?" Peter took a good look at the sketch.

Diana nodded. "Our sketch artist compiled all the physical descriptions and sent these over this morning."

"Boss, there's more." Jones passed a folder over to Peter. "Jack Reid had an older brother, Michael Reid, who was booked for counterfeiting and extortion 2 years ago."

Peter thought for a moment. "Yeah…I remember him. He put up a fight at his arrest."

"I'm guessing this was before my time?" Neal spoke up.

"Despite what you think, we did actually solve cases without you." Peter said sarcastically. "It didn't take us too long to catch Reid; he was a tad sloppy at covering his tracks."

"Unlike his younger brother." Diana flipped through Reid's files. "But, Peter…that's not all."

"What else is there?" Peter put his file down, waiting for Diana to tell him the rest.

"Reid was killed a month ago in a prison fight." she announced. "According to what the guards found out, he ticked off another inmate. Wanting to teach Reid a lesson, the guy got a knife and went after him during recess."

Peter sighed. "I've been getting phone calls recently. One after Neal was poisoned and one after someone broke into the house. When he called the second time, he told me he wanted revenge. I didn't want to bring it up until I got some more evidence. Yesterday, after bringing Neal back home, I went to see Sawyers. I played a recording of one of the calls I got, and he confirmed it was the same guy who tipped him off about us. Now I'm positive it's Reid."

Neal frowned. "So, Sawyers was wrong. This guy wasn't after me, he was after _you_." The room became silent all of a sudden until Peter coughed.

"Alright I want to see if we can get a trace on Reid's phone. He's been good at hiding so far, so I highly doubt we'll be able to get anything. Still, it's worth a shot."

"We're on it, boss." Diana said as she and Jones left the room.

"And Neal, I want you to check out your street contacts. See if there's any chatter about Reid."

"Will do. I'll be back as soon as I know something." Neal got up and went down to his desk and dialed Mozzie's number. After a few rings, he finally picked up.

"_You have the wrong number."_ Mozzie said, well, rather shouted.

"Relax Moz, it's just me. You know, out of all the people, I would think you'd have caller-id."

"_No. You can't trust it. For all you know, the information could be intercepted by the man."_

"Remind me to ask Peter that next time you're with us. I'm sure he'd be happy to explain it to you."

"_I'll pass."_ Mozzie paused. _"I'm sure you didn't call me to discuss my latest conspiracy theory, so what's up?"_

"We got an ID on our mystery man. It's Jack Reid. His brother was just killed in a prison fight about a month ago. Peter was the case agent in charge of his brother's case so Reid's seeking out his revenge."

"_Meet me in Central Park in an hour."_

"Thanks, Moz." Neal hung up and went to the elevator. He had an hour of free time on his hands. There wasn't anything he could do at the office right now so he decided to check out the new exhibit at the Channing. After all, it was only a few blocks from Central Park. Neal smiled as he made his way out of the FBI building and into the streets of the city.

* * *

><p>Peter was looking back into Reid's brother's file. There wasn't anything they didn't already know. He put down the file and leaned back in his chair. Neal nearly getting shot, then poisoned, someone breaking into the house and hurting Satchmo…all this because of revenge. Peter sat up when he heard a knock and saw Jones standing in the doorway.<p>

"Jones, anything come up?"

"We traced Reid's calls to you but they came from a prepaid burner phone. Sorry, boss."

"No, it's fine. Hopefully Neal will find something on his end."

"Oh, and Peter, Hughes wants to see you in his office." Jones added.

"Did he say why?" Peter asked and frowned when Jones shook his head. "Alright, that'll be all." He got up and walked over to Hughes' office and knocked. Usually when he was called into Hughes' office, it wasn't good.

"The door's open, Burke." Hughes called out. "Close the door and sit down, please."

"Sir, what is this all about?"

"It's come to my attention that your team has found out who's responsible for poisoning our consultant and breaking into your residence?"

"Yes."

"Peter, I think it's best if you just hand this case over to someone else. You're too close to this. The guy clearly wants revenge."

"Sir, you can't take me off this case!" Peter protested. He was about to continue but Hughes held up a hand.

"My word is final."

Peter sighed. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"You still haven't caught Greene. He just made another deposit last night. I want your team to stake out that bar tonight and catch him."

"Yes, sir." Peter got up and opened the door.

"And, Peter, keep an eye out for Reid. I don't want to see any of my men or consultants get hurt." Hughes spoke up. Peter nodded and walked back to his office.

* * *

><p>Neal took a quick glance at his phone. He got to spend close to an hour at the Channing and was disappointed he had to leave. But, this case was extremely important to Peter, so he reluctantly left the gallery and walked a couple of blocks over to Mozzie's favorite bench in Central Park. As Neal approached the bench, he could see Mozzie already sitting.<p>

"You really need to work on your time management skills." Mozzie quipped.

"I'll take that under advisement." Neal sat down. "How much did you find?"

"Only a little. The guy who stabbed Reid's older brother was actually his cellmate, Martin Yates. Looking at the guard's reports, they said that Reid told a joke that went too far."

"That's been known to happen." Neal recalled witnessing his first prison fight; it wasn't pretty. Both inmates ended up in the infirmary for days. Luckily, Neal stayed far away from all that business.

"And then I looked into Reid himself. He was renting an apartment in Brooklyn, but he didn't pay last month's rent."

"His brother was murdered last month, so he probably ditched the place and started planning his revenge."

"What I don't understand is why would Reid go after the Suit? Shouldn't he be planning his revenge on Yates?"

"Don't forget, Peter was the case agent for Reid's brother. He's the one who put his brother in jail."

"Ahh." Mozzie nodded. "What are you and the Suit's going to do now?"

"Not sure. I have to head to the office; Peter wanted me back as soon as I knew something."

"Just try not to get shot, or poisoned, or dismembered." Mozzie added as he handed Neal the files.

"I don't plan on it." Neal got up and made his way back to the FBI building.

* * *

><p>Neal got out of the elevator and went up to Peter's office with the files obtained from Mozzie. When he entered, Peter was typing something on his computer.<p>

"What was so interesting at the Channing?" Peter didn't look up from the screen.

"You checked my anklet?" Neal was shocked, but covered it up.

"Relax. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I wouldn't put it pass Reid to kidnap you or something." Peter explained. That made Neal feel significantly better. Trust has always been an ongoing issue between them.

"I appreciate the concern." Neal smiled. "I had some free time before meeting up with Moz so I stopped by the Channing just to look around."

"I believe you."

"Well, that's a first!" Neal clapped. "Maybe you'd like to document this moment?"

"Oh, come on, you're exaggerating." Peter saw the files in Neal's hand. "Are those from Mozzie?"

Neal nodded. "Nothing that important to the case. He found out that the guy who killed Reid's brother was his inmate and that Reid stopped paying his rent last month."

"And that coincides with his brother's death." Peter sighed. "I can't believe this guy is coming after me because of some mess his brother got into."

"You'd be surprised at what people will do for revenge." Neal leaned back in his chair. "So, what now?"

"Now? Now we go grab lunch and get ready for surveillance in the van."

"Surveillance? Did you find a location on Reid?" Neal sat up.

"No. Hughes pulled the plug. He said I'm too close to the case. Right now, we need to close up the Greene case."

"Did he make another deposit?"

"Yeah, this morning. Hopefully he'll feel like celebrating tonight. Jones and Diana will be staking out the back entrance and we'll take the front."

"Peter, is it really necessary for me to go? I don't think you need my expert advice while staking out a bar."

"Yes, you're coming. This way I can keep an eye on you in case Reid has more planned."

"Fine. But on one condition, no deviled ham in the van." Neal stood up and put his hands in his pockets.

"I think I can do that, just this once." Peter smiled. "Alright, let's grab some lunch and get set up for tonight."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):** I'm sorry for not updating the other day. I've only pre-written up until now and I wanted to post when I finished the next chapter. But, I didn't want to make you guys wait to long so here it is! I finally think I know how I want to end this, haha. I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I'm done! Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**(A/N):** Thank you all so much for reading/reviewing/alerting/and making this story a favorite! I hope this chapter pleases you. I don't own anything (except my season 1 and 2 dvd and a fedora) and any mistakes you find are my own.

* * *

><p>Peter was having a staring contest with the monitors in the van, and was losing. There were no signs of Greene yet. And even after getting removed from the case, Peter couldn't take his mind off of Reid. Knowing that Reid is still out there meant that everyone around him is in danger. Being an FBI Agent, you always have to realize the risks involved in every case, and of course the retribution that could be coming your way. Of course, most agents don't think it'll happen to them until it really does. Peter's deep thoughts were interrupted when he turned his head and saw Neal come to the back of the van carrying a large paper bag.<p>

"Where the hell have you been?" Peter asked sternly. "You said you just needed a bathroom break and you've been gone," he glanced at his watch, "20 minutes!"

"Relax, Peter. You know you could've checked my anklet." Neal gestured to his ankle.

Peter kicked himself mentally for not thinking of that. He was too busy wondering who Reid will get to next. "I didn't think of that."

"Are you sure you had enough coffee today?" Neal joked as he moved some equipment over to place the paper bag on the table.

"What is all that for?" Peter narrowed his eyes.

"The guy in the convenience store wouldn't let me use the bathroom unless I bought something." Neal started rummaging through the bag until he found what he was looking for.

"Seriously?" Peter rolled his eyes. Neal was proudly holding up a green tree air freshener.

"I told you guys to invest in these, and you never did, so I took matters into my own hands and bought a few." Neal pulled out 3 more little trees. "And I got cinnamon, lemon, and berry. Take your pick."

"You've got to be kidding me! Put those away." Peter stood up, ready to throw the air fresheners into the bag when Neal pulled them away.

"Fine, be that way. I'm guessing you don't want any dinner?" Neal grabbed a sandwich and threw it at Peter, who quickly caught it. "Don't get your hopes up, it's not deviled ham."

Peter mumbled his thanks.

"What was that, Peter? I don't think I heard you." Neal sat down with his own sandwich and drink in hand.

"You heard me perfectly."

"So, I'm guessing there hasn't been any sign of Greene."

"Nope, but it's only 7, there's still time."

Neal sighed as he leaned in to get a better look at the monitors. "I wonder what Jones and Diana are doing."

"Probably their jobs." Peter said bluntly.

"I know that, I'm just saying, they're usually with us and I definitely provide a source of entertainment in the van."

"You're more of an annoyance in the van, like right now. You should be paying attention."

"Peter, you know I'm gifted in the art of multitasking."

"I've noticed." Peter rubbed his head. "Can't you just be quiet for, I don't know, 10 minutes?"

"Do I get a reward?"

"Yeah you do. It's called no prison."

Neal rolled his eyes. "Wow, great prize."

"I'd say so. Now be quiet, just 10 minutes, that's all I'm asking."

* * *

><p>"Do you hear that?" Jones spoke up, turning toward Diana.<p>

"No, what is it?" Diana asked confused.

"Silence." Jones held his hands up.

"You're right." Diana laughed. "I don't think it's even been this quiet without Caffrey here."

"He's probably annoying the hell outta Peter." Jones chuckled. Since Neal first started his release with Peter, he was pretty skeptical about how it would turn out. After all his hard work and patience, Peter hand picked him to be on the team. Then came Caffrey, who just escaped prison. He'd have to be crazy not to be upset about it. Almost three years later, Jones doesn't mind at all. Neal has been a great addition to the team, not to mention his ability to make surveillance in the van more bearable.

"I don't doubt that for a minute."

* * *

><p><em>6 minutes, 34 seconds.<em>

Neal was bored out of his mind with less than four minutes left. He decided to challenge himself and actually be quiet for once. It was easier said than done in Neal's book. He normally doesn't have a problem being quiet on the job, but this time there was absolutely nothing to do. Usually he'd elevate the silence by occasionally chatting up with Jones or some playful flirting with Diana, knowing full well it won't go anywhere. But at least it was _something._ With Peter it was extremely different. Peter liked to get the job done with little or no commentary coming from Neal's side of the van.

_7 minutes, 21 seconds_.

He really needed to stop checking the timer on his phone, realizing that the time wouldn't go any faster by looking at it. Deciding to actually do what he ordered to, Neal adjusted himself in his chair and starting looking a random monitor. There was barely three minutes left on Peter's no-talking bet and he wasn't going to ruin it. Looking at another screen, Neal saw a man and three friends enter the front door and go straight to the bar table. Wait a second…

"Uh, Peter?" Neal spoke up hesitantly.

"According to my watch, it hasn't been 10 minutes left."

"I know that, but Peter—"

"Neal, I don't wanna hear it." Peter raised his voice. It was like talking to a 5 year old!

"Peter, just listen to me, Greene just entered the bar with his buddies." Neal managed to spit out.

"What?" Peter got up out of his chair and turned to look at the monitor Neal was pointing at.

"See? Right there? That's definitely him."

Peter smiled. "We got him." He reached over and grabbed his walkie-talkie and pushed the button down. "Jones?"

"_Yeah, boss?"_ Jones' voice came over the speakers.

"We spotted Greene and his buddies entering the bar on our end. You stay with Diana near the back exit in case he comes out your way."

"_Will do."_

"Come on, let's go!" Neal started for the front door of the van but Peter took one step and grabbed him by the arm.

"I don't think so. You're staying here."

"Peter, just let me come. I won't bother anyone, scouts' honor."

"I highly doubt you were ever a boy scout."

"That's beside the point."

"Fine you can come. Just stay beside me, the bar's pretty packed. Nothing stupid." Peter ordered.

"Nothing stupid." Neal smiled and he and Peter made their way out of the van and across the street to the bar.

"Stay by me." Peter repeated. The bar was packed just like he predicted. He could just make out Greene and his gang hanging out in the back corner making toasts.

"Got'cha." Neal said.

Peter was getting annoyed at pushing his way through the crowds of people so he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Jones telling them to come in for assistance. Looking back to the corner, Greene was still there and he didn't look like he was in too much of a hurry.

"Hey, I texted Jones and he's coming in with Diana. There are way too many people here, we need some backup." Peter spoke over the loud noise. "Neal?" He turned around and Neal nowhere to be seen. "Dammit!" Peter pulled his phone back out to text Neal when he felt someone jab into his back. "Watch it!" he shouted.

"Shut up and keep walking if you want your little consultant to live." The man's voice was scarily familiar. "Hand me your phone and start walking." Peter felt the man push something up against his back again and now knew it was a gun. He was forced to comply with the stranger. After handing the guy his phone, he was led all the way down a narrow hallway and opened a door only to push Peter down on the ground, hard. Peter turned around and finally saw the man's face, clear as day.

"Jack Reid."

"Peter Burke. It's nice to finally meet you."

If it wasn't for the gun in Reid's hand, Peter would've laughed at how cliché this all was. He quickly scanned the room until he saw a slumped figure up against the back wall.

"Neal!" Peter made his move to get up but stopped short when he heard Reid cock his gun.

"I don't think so, Burke."

"What did you do to him?" Peter spat out.

"Don't worry; I haven't shot him—yet. He refused to come quietly so I had to shut him up."

"You're going to go down for this, Reid. The only way you're walking out of here will be in cuffs."

"Shut up!" Reid nearly yelled. He turned around and started to pace as he cocked and released the safety on his gun repeatedly. To Peter, it was obvious Reid had no clue what to do next. He probably didn't plan this far ahead in his revenge plan. Peter glanced over at Neal, who hadn't moved an inch. Though, from where he was sitting, he could still make out the slight rise and fall of Neal's chest.

"Listen, give me your gun and maybe we can work something out here." Peter offered slowly.

"No! Don't you understand! _You_ killed him! _You_ did this!" Reid shouted, but not loud enough to alert anyone from the front of the bar.

"You're wrong, Jack. Michael made his own choices that landed him in prison. And I think you know that." Peter countered.

Reid looked like he was about to crack. But before he did, he stuck his gun into his pants, opened the door and rushed right through it. As it closed, Peter could hear it lock on the other side. He took this chance to quickly slide over to Neal.

"Neal? Neal, come on, wake up." Peter shook the younger man and noticed a large bruise forming near his hairline. Thankfully, Neal started to come around. "That's it, buddy, open your eyes." Peter coaxed.

"Peter?" Neal squinted.

"Yeah, I'm here. Reid got you good, huh?" Peter half smiled as he helped Neal sit up against the back wall.

Neal nodded, and then winced. "I wasn't too compliant."

"I can imagine. You alright?"

"I'm fine." Neal said a bit too quickly.

"I prefer the truth, Neal."

"The truth? Well, how do you think I feel, Peter? I was pistol-whipped and thrown into a room."

"Alright, sorry I asked." Peter held up a hand.

"Where is Reid now?"

"He panicked and left a few minutes ago. I guess he didn't think he'd get this far."

"How long do you think it'll take for Jones and Diana to find us?" Neal cradled his head.

"Hopefully not too long. I texted them before Reid took me here and told them I needed assistance with arresting Greene. Then Reid lifted my phone."

Neal felt around in his jacket pocket. "He took mine too. I guess we just wait now." Neal sighed.

* * *

><p>Jones felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out, revealing a text from Peter.<p>

"Hey, Peter wants us to move in." He got up and grabbed extra pairs of cuffs.

"I bet. It looks crowded in there. Let me call it in." Diana made a quick call to the bureau and told them their location.

"Let's get this over with." Jones held the door open for Diana as they made their way around the corner and toward the front of the bar. When they entered, they were greeted by shouting and loud music. The building was probably way over capacity.

"Greene's in the back corner with his friends. I don't see Peter or Neal."

"We should just get Greene first before he leaves." Diana shouted over the noise. She led Jones to the corner of the bar and walked up to Greene. "Are you Rodger Greene?"

"Why yes I am, missy." Greene smiled. "Can I help you?"

"Actually you can." Diana flipped open her badge and Jones did the same. "You're under arrest for identity theft and counterfeiting. Jones, if you'll do the honors." The look on Greene's face was priceless.

"Dammit!" Greene cursed as Jones cuffed him and took him to the front of the bar where more agents were patiently waiting.

"You three, you're coming too." Diana cuffed and led Greene's associates right behind Jones.

After a few minutes of getting the paperwork sorted out, Greene and his buddies were already being driven away. Jones said his goodnights to the remaining agents and walked over to Diana.

"Any sign of Peter or Neal?"

Diana shook her head. "Nope. And they won't answer their phones."

"Try checking Caffrey's anklet." Jones suggested.

"Didn't think of that." Diana pulled out her phone and dialed.

_"Electronic monitoring compliance unit."_ A female voice answered.

"This is Diana Barrigan, FBI. I need the location of detention tracking anklet 9305-Alpha, Neal Caffrey." Diana said as she waited for a reply.

"What's wrong?" Jones saw Diana frown after ending the phone call.

"The tracker says that Neal's in the bar." she turned back towards the entrance. "The crowd cleared up a bit, you willing to go look around?"

"Yeah. Something isn't right here."

After a few minutes of looking around, Jones and Diana met up with each other toward the side of the building. Neal and Peter were not there.

"What now? This doesn't feel right." Jones looked around one more time and spotted a hallway towards the back. "Diana, you see that?"

"The hallway?"

Jones nodded.

"You think they're back there?"

"Caffrey's anklet shows him still at the bar. We never checked down that hallway."

"Worth a shot." Diana and Jones started walking toward the hallway but were stopped by a bartender.

"Hold up, no one's allowed back there." the guy shouted.

"Federal Agents." Jones said as both of them flashed their badges. "We have reason to believe another agent and a consultant are being held back there."

"You do, do you?" the bartender crossed his arms. "Well, how about one of you show me a warrant?"

"Sir, please—" Diana started.

"I don't think so. No warrant, no hallway. Now get the hell outta my bar." the guy forcefully pointed toward the front door. Diana and Jones had no other choice than to exit the bar.

"Damn." Jones looked at his phone. "It's half past nine. There's no way we'll get a warrant processed until tomorrow morning."

"I hope Peter and Neal can stick it out that long." Diana frowned as she took one more look inside the bar.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):** Wow, you didn't see that coming, did ya? Well, if you did, good for you, haha, cause I sure didn't. I originally planned for this to be the last chapter, but I just kept on writing! I hope you liked this chapter and I'll get started on the next as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**(A/N):** Thanks again for all the reviews/alerts/favorites! This chapter has a little spoiler for Point Blank (2x09). I don't own anything and any mistakes you find are my own.

* * *

><p>Hours. They've been in that room for hours. It was almost 7 in the morning according to Peter's watch and surprisingly, Reid hadn't come back yet. The lock, as Neal explained to Peter numerous times, couldn't be picked because there was no hole on this side of the door. If Neal thought being in the van earlier was hard, this had to be torture. Though, he kept his frustration inside, while Peter expressed it.<p>

"Peter! Can you _please_ stop pacing? You're adding to my headache." Neal finally said after minutes of watching Peter walk from one end of the room to the other. He was pretty sure getting stuck in a room with Peter could be classified as cruel and unusual punishment.

"Sorry." Peter stopped and went to sit down by Neal. "I'm not use to being stuck in a room this long." He sighed, "I'd rather be in a budget meeting."

"Try prison for four years."

"Oh, no. You don't get to play that card." Peter shook his head. Neal decided not to argue any further on that matter.

"The first thing I'm doing when we get out of here is using the bathroom."

"Whoa, too much information!"

"And you should really consider a shower, Peter." Neal smirked.

"Give me a break! It's burring up in here." Peter loosened his tie a bit more.

"Here," Neal reached into his pocket, "this might help diminish your stench."

"Put that away! I can't believe you kept that in your pocket!" Peter rolled his eyes at Neal holding up one of the air fresheners he bought. This one appeared to be berry.

"Come on, Peter, have some fun. There's nothing else to do." Neal pocketed the air freshener.

"How about you try being quiet again?" Peter offered. "No? Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to close my eyes and try to pretend I'm at home with my wife, sipping my morning coffee, and not here with you."

"Hey, I didn't ask to be locked in a room with you." Neal paused, waiting for a snarky reply from Peter, but he didn't get one. "Peter?" He scooted over to the agent and heard even breathing. Neal sighed, Peter had fallen asleep. "Great. What am I supposed to do now?" He looked around the room, back to Peter, and then smiled.

* * *

><p>Jones and Diana were in route to the bar where the tracker still showed Neal at. This time they were prepared with a warrant and a few extra agents driving behind.<p>

"I wonder how they held up last night." Diana broke the silence.

"I have no clue. But, you couldn't pay me enough to be stuck in a room all night with Caffrey. I hope Peter's still sane when we find them." Jones quipped, making Diana laugh.

"So, you think Reid's behind this?" Diana said in a more serious tone.

"That's my first guess. I'll be glad when we nab this guy though. Things can start getting back to normal around here."

"Agreed." Diana looked at her watch, it was almost 8. "How far out are we?" she asked.

"Probably about 10, 15 minutes if we don't hit anymore traffic." Jones said as he made a left at the light.

"I'm sure they'll be fine until then."

* * *

><p>"Uh…Peter?" Neal spoke hesitantly.<p>

"Go away." Peter mumbled and attempted to slap away the hand that shaking him.

"Peter, I'm not joking around this time. I think someone's coming." This caused Peter to sit up.

"Reid?" Peter thought out loud.

"Or Diana and Jones." Neal said hopefully.

Neal and Peter stiffened as they heard their visitor begin to unlock the door and open it.

"Hope you two didn't miss me." Reid smiled malevolently. It looked like he came back with newfound confidence.

"Can't say I did." Neal said bluntly.

"I didn't ask you." Reid spat out. "You should be lucky I haven't shot you yet." he pulled a gun out from his pants.

"Hold on, Reid, this is between you and me. No one else." Peter stood up slowly. He could feel Reid watching his every move. "If you want to blame me fine—just don't hurt anyone else."

"Why should I listen to _anything_ you say?" Reid shouted, not caring if anyone heard him. "It's all your fault! If you hadn't thrown Michael in prison, he wouldn't be dead!"

"Jack, you know that's not true." Peter held out a hand, trying to calm Reid down.

"Shut up! Don't pretend to understand! All of this—manipulating Sawyers, the poison, even your damn dog was all a part of my plan to ruin you! I wanted you to feel what it's like to lose someone you care about or see them hurt like you did to me!" Reid pointed his gun at Neal and cocked it. "You obviously care about him, so please, give me one reason why I don't shoot him right here, right now?"

Peter down at Neal who was surprisingly calm. He'd have to ask Neal about that later…if they ever get out of the room. Peter looked back up to Reid, who still had the gun set on Neal, but was looking directly at him.

"No reason? Well, I guess you can say goodbye to your consultant friend."

"I can give you a reason." Peter and Reid looked down at Neal, who had spoken up out of nowhere.

"Don't pretend to know how this feels!" Reid yelled.

"Actually, I do." Neal said softly. It was then that Peter realized that Neal was talking about Kate and the whole incident with Fowler only a few months ago. "I bet that your brother would hate for you to ruin your life by seeking out revenge."

"You didn't know my brother!" Reid was close to breaking down again.

"You're right, I didn't. But I what I do know is how it feels to hold that gun in your hand and stare down at the man you blame everything for. It feels good, powerful in fact." Peter hoped that Neal was getting to the point. "And I know what it feels like after cooling down and realizing that you almost killed someone." Neal paused, allowing that to sink in. "And I know that killing me or hurting anyone else won't bring your brother back."

Reid looked like he was going to run straight out of the room just like he did yesterday, and he would've if it weren't for Jones and Diana standing by the door.

"Freeze—FBI! Gun on the ground, now!" Jones yelled and after a second, Reid obeyed. He proceeded to cuff Reid and handed him off to another agent. Neal sighed and stood up with help from Peter.

"Hey, you both alright?" Diana holstered her gun and walked over to them. She looked to Neal and pointed to his head. "Neal, what happened?"

Neal reached up to touch his head and recoiled. "Oh, forgot about that. It's nothing, Reid wanted me to shut up and I didn't and you can guess what happened."

"Neal Caffrey not shutting up? No way, that's unheard of!" Diana laughed. "Do you need to get checked out? You could have a concussion or something."

"Nah, I'm good. The doctor won't tell me anything I don't already know. I'll just go home and rest."

"Alright," Jones walked over, "they just left with Reid."

"Great job you two. So, what exactly took so long?" Peter asked.

Diana held up a piece of paper. "Warrant. The owner wouldn't let us back here without one."

"You're kidding. Any reason why he wouldn't let you guys look around?"

Jones nodded. "Oh yeah. There's another room down here. Man, that guy could open a pharmacy with all the drugs we found back there." He looked back at Peter and started laughing. It took a second, but Diana caught on too. Even Neal was smiling.

"What? What's so funny?" Peter was seriously confused.

"Peter, your tie." Diana stopped laughing long enough to point to Peter's chest.

"What the hell?" Peter looked down and saw a little purple tree attached to his tie. The same purple air freshener Neal had in his pocket before. "Neal!" he shouted and looked up to find Neal already out of the room.

"Sorry, Peter, bathroom!" Neal yelled from the hallway.

Jones sniffed. "Is that berry? You know, we should get some of those for the van."

Peter rolled his eyes as he walked out of the room and waited for Neal so they could finally get home.

* * *

><p>"El? Honey?" Peter called out as he entered their home. Jones and Diana dropped him off after driving Neal back to Junes. He already called and talked to Hughes, who gave them the rest of the day off.<p>

"Peter?" Elizabeth peaked out from the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm home." he walked over and gave her a big hug and was granted with an affectionate kiss. When they pulled apart, Elizabeth waved a hand in front of her face.

"No offense, hon, but you _really_ stink."

"I've been told that." Peter remembered Neal's comment from earlier. "Don't worry; I'll get cleaned up soon."

"So, Diana called last night." Elizabeth started. "She left out a few details, but she said you and Neal were locked in a room?" she raised an eyebrow. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"Of course I will, but over lunch. I'm starving!" Peter made his way into the kitchen with Elizabeth by his side.

* * *

><p>The next day, it was like nothing happened. As usual, Peter drove up to June's to get Neal for another day of work. He had called the younger man last night to make sure he was fine, and Neal assured him all was well. After being welcomed into the house by one of June's maids, Peter made the short journey up the stairs to Neal's apartment. Just like the other day, the door was already open and he could see Neal sitting outside.<p>

"Hey." Peter made himself present.

"Morning." Neal greeted. He put down his Italian Roast and stood up.

"You're looking better." Peter noticed Neal's chipper attitude was back in place.

"Told you I just needed some rest." Neal smiled.

"What you did in there—" Peter started but was cut off.

"It was nothing. I knew you had my back." There was such sincerity in Neal's voice that Peter couldn't help but smile.

"Well, you definitely saved both our butts by talking down Reid. I'm just glad all that is finally over."

"You and me both. I think I'll gladly take a mortgage fraud case right about now." Neal proposed.

"I don't think you'll have the same frame of mind when we get back to the office."

"You're probably right."

"Come on. Let's go."

Once at the office, a new mortgage fraud case was thrown at them. And just like Peter said, after about an hour with the new case, Neal was already bored. But, nonetheless, they made it through the day. Right before leaving, Peter went down to Neal's desk.

"Hey, I almost forgot, your presence is requested at Chez Burke tonight. El's cooking."

"I could never decline a dinner from Elizabeth."

"That's what I thought."

After saying their goodbyes to the remaining agents, both men headed home to Elizabeth. As soon as they walked through the front door, voices could be heard from the kitchen.

"Moz?" Neal made his way into the kitchen with Peter. Elizabeth was sitting with Mozzie at the table. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Neither did I." Peter looked at his wife.

"Mozzie offered to show me some home security options." Elizabeth pointed toward the magazines on the table.

"I recommended this Russian model. Top of the class." Mozzie handed Peter an information sheet.

"Right." Peter took a glance at the paper.

"Oh, honey, I think it's adorable! He's looking out for us." Elizabeth smiled at Mozzie.

"I'm just concerned for your safety." Mozzie faced Elizabeth. "You never know what new enemies the Suit will bring home."

Peter was unable to say anything as the oven timer beeped and Elizabeth went to go get dinner. Neal was overjoyed when she came back out.

"Cornish hens?" Neal frowned despite that Elizabeth had cooked his favorite meal. "Peter, why didn't you tell me? I have the perfect wine sitting at June's."

"One step ahead of you, my friend." Mozzie retrieved a bottle of wine from the kitchen. They all sat down and the wine was poured. Elizabeth was just about to take her first bite when she looked at Peter and started laughing. Mozzie looked up and chuckled.

"What are you two laughing at?" Peter didn't see anything funny about their dinner.

"Peter, you're tie." Elizabeth pointed as she continued to laugh.

"What the—Neal!" Peter shouted. To be honest, he was more surprised than angry. He looked up to Neal, who had his trademark grin plastered on his face. Peter looked back down at his tie and he couldn't help but smile himself.

There was a green air freshener clipped onto his tie.

* * *

><p><strong>(AN):** I thought I'd end this story on a happy note. I was _real_ close to letting Reid shoot Neal, but I felt like Neal getting shot would better fit another story rather than this one. Sorry, it took so long to update, I really had no clue how to end it so I hope you guys thought it was alright. This has been my longest story yet and I'm definitely sad that its over! But, I do have some more stories planned and a whole summer to write them! Again, thank you to anyone who read this. It means a lot knowing that someone took the time to read something I wrote and actually enjoyed it! Thank you!


End file.
